OOIDA petitions court for rehearing of electronic logging case

By Jami Jones, Land Line managing editor | Wednesday, December 14, 2016

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association filed a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit on Wednesday requesting a rehearing of its case opposing a federal regulation mandating the use of electronic logging devices.

The request follows a ruling an Oct. 31 by a three-judge panel who heard OOIDA’s case opposing electronic logs before the 7th Circuit Court on Sept. 13. The court ruled in favor of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, allowing the mandate to go forward.

OOIDA’s petition requests a hearing before the full panel of judges of the 7th Circuit. The request does not necessarily break down the merits of the case as presented, but rather highlights different court decisions that appear to be in conflict with the decision to uphold the mandate.

The 55-page brief breaks down a number of court cases with similar issues in play where the outcomes were very different than in the OOIDA case. The intent behind such requests for rehearing, and subsequent granting of such requests, is to attempt to align legal proceedings on key issues around the country landing on the same legal decision.

Of note, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit previously ruled against FMCSA in 2011 and blocked an attempt to mandate electronic logs for motor carriers with severe noncompliance with the hours of service regulations.

“In our previous case on this issue, the court ruled based on just one of our arguments – harassment. This time, we have again raised several issues that should be taken seriously and we hope to have a full review by the court,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer said about the Association’s decision to appeal the most recent ruling.

While the court will consider the request, it is not under any deadline for responding to OOIDA’s request. It takes a simple majority of the judges within the circuit court to decide if there will be a rehearing or not.